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Phil Jaques, an Australian left-handed opening batsman, started his journey into the game with Wollongong, in New South Wales.

His talent pushed him to the fringes of the New South Wales side in 2001, but after finding opportunities hard to come by in the XI, Jaques turned to the County Championship and Northants in 2003. From there, his career skyrocketed.  He scored more than 1200 runs in the summer, before returning to Australia a changed man.

A successful winter in Australia followed, before two fruitful summers with Yorkshire, during which he was rewarded with a call up to the Australian national side. 

Unfortunately for Jaques, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer were established at the top of the order, and he was initially restricted to deputising when one of the pair was ruled out of a match with injury.

He did, however, make 94 on his ODI debut, as well as successive centuries in England’s three warm up matches in Australia ahead of the 2006/7 Ashes Series.

Jaques in full flow for the Hobart Hurricanes in the KFC Big Bash

Despite being overlooked once more for Langer and Hayden, Jaques was finally handed an opportunity with Langer’s retirement a year later, making his Test debut against Sri Lanka. It was a debut to remember, too, as Jaques scored a maiden Test century in his first innings. 

He continued his fine form in the second Test at the Bellerive Oval, scoring 150 and 68, and went on to represent his country against the West Indies and India through 2008, before returning to Australia for treatment on a back problem.

Jaques, who is in possession of an English passport, has excelled in British climes, his highest ever First Class score also coming in the County Championship, this time with Worcestershire in 2007, hitting a monstrous 244 against Essex. Jaques will arrive in Nottingham following a season with Yorkshire, in which he scored 1,080 runs across all formats. 

His experience and pedigree should stand him in good stead to provide Notts with a reliable left-hand at the top of the order, as Nottinghamshire will look to establish themselves as a competitive side early in the LV=County Championship season.

Phil Jaques In Numbers

14: the number of fours Jaques struck in his maiden Test century.

48.45: Jaques’ First Class average.

58: The number of centuries Jaques has scored to date.

95: Phil Jaques’ First-Class appearances in England alone.

244: Jaques’ highest score

14,779: Phil Jaques’ first-class run tally, to date.